A fire roared through a central Paris hotel today, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens more.

Firefighters rescued some guests but others jumped out of windows to escape flames and choking smoke.

The fire was in the Paris Opera hotel in the capital's 9th district, an area frequented by tourists. At least 35 people were injured, 13 seriously, said a fire services spokesman.

Chakib San, who lives in an adjacent building, said he was awakened by cries of "Fire! Fire!" He said he saw three people jump from low floors of the six-storey building, including a woman and a child who lay motionless after hitting the ground.

"They weren't moving," he said. "Everyone was screaming. There were bodies in the road."

The injured were treated and the bodies of the dead temporarily stored in the Galaries Lafayette, one of the busiest and most famous stores in Paris.

It took 250 firefighters and 50 fire engines to bring the fire under control and it was still burning hours later.

Nearly all of the six floors were blackened inside.

Many guests were African, but there were also at least three Canadians in the hotel, one of whom was slightly injured, said the spokesman.

The dead were recovered from the road, from inside, just about everywhere, he said.

The hotel owner believes the fire broke out in a second floor breakfast room, he added.

Chakib San said he spoke to Australians, Canadians and Tunisians who escaped the fire. A woman who works in a nearby hotel brought out a ladder and together they used it to rescue a girl from the first floor, he said.

"We got out a little girl. The fire services arrived just afterward."

The injured came from France, the US, Portugal, Senegal, Tunisia, Ukraine and Ivory Coast, police said.The nationalities of the dead were not given.